Halo: Harvest
by FanGuyKyle
Summary: Blitzkrieg is a UNSC special forces strike team consisting of candidates from Project: ORION. Being chosen by ONI section III to partake in a top secret project called MJOLNIR, Blitzkrieg is sent to Chi Ceti IV to deliver and field test the MJOLNIR Alpha 1 prototypes. But while heading to Chi Ceti IV their ship comes across a lost ONI science vessel that inside holds a dark secret.
1. Prolouge

Updated changes: Nova is now a yellow male lion, Rachel is now Ashley, Erin is now Brian.

Harvest Prologue

December 1st 2524 Military Calendar, Epsilon Eridani system, Enroute to UNSC orbital space dock, planet Reach.

Number One looked into the golden visor of his helmet and stared at his reflection in the thick reflective material. Turning the helmet over he placed it onto his head where his HUD/ Heads up display would light up showcasing a motion tracker near the bottom left in his visor, as well as a health bar with 7 blue bars at the top. Looking around the Pelican dropship's passenger bay also in olive green Mark IV power armor sat three other individuals, his new teammates. Like him they were candidates conscripted into Project: ORION, a program designed by ONI/ The Office of Naval Intelligence to create a new breed of soldier never before seen. These soldiers were faster, stronger, and smarter than a normal person at the peak of human perfection. All of this was possible due to the augmentations given to each candidate of the program who would then be sent out on high risk missions on the front lines. However there was another name that had been given to these deadly warriors, SPARTANs. This new team that Number One had been assigned to was an ORION strike team who worked under Nav Spec War Com/ Naval Special Warfare Command, which meant they were some of the best trained soldiers that the UNSC/ United Nations Space Command had.

A few months ago he had been hand picked by someone in ONI to participate in a new project directed under Section III called MJOLNIR which from his understanding was a new kind of power armor meant to revolutionize warfare forever. However not just anyone could use it, or so he'd been told. MJOLNIR had been created to be worn by a certain set of individuals who as of yet had not been revealed to him. What he did know about these unknown others were that they were to be given augmentations much more advanced than the ones given the men and woman of Project: ORION. However these new augmentations also came with a higher risk factor that could leave the subject with distorted limbs, brain dead, or just out and out kill them. Unfortunately for him, he needed these new augmentations if he wished to participate in field testing the MJOLNIR armor prototype. He had survived the procedure, but only due to the augmentations he had already received from Project: ORION, and apparently so did the members of his new team, Blitzkrieg.

To his left sat a woman in her mid 30s who had healed burn mark that covered the right side of her face, which was probably why one of her hazel colored eyes were closed shut. She also possessed short black hair as well as some freckles that covered the skin over her nose and under her eyes. However her most distinct feature was the blue bandana that she wore around her neck on the outside of her power armor, and despite it being against regulations, there were much worse rules one could break then wearing a bandana while in military gear. Number One had seen many marines wear bandanas on their head but had never seen any wear them around their neck. This was Blitzkriegs commander Susie Lynch, the brains and force behind ORION team Blitzkrieg. Across from her sat another woman who looked to be in her late 20s with dark skin and black hair which had been braided. Her green eyes looked down at her M99 Stanchion Gauss Rifle as she placed a ten round magazine into the chamber and looked through the rifles 10x variable zoom scope. She was the team's sniper Warrant Officer Ditzel, but she was better known to the team as Ditzy.

Last was Warrant Officer grade 2 Axel Fisher who had been a field technician on the front lines fighting the Insurrection before being picked to serve with Blitzkrieg. From what it said in his file he had remarkable knowledge of the inner workings of vehicles, computers, and other hardware. Apparently he had once fixed a thought to be destroyed Scorpion tank who's main cannon was blown off while at the same time was under heavy ground fire. He had managed to get the tanks cannon back onto the body and blew his way out, or at least that was what the report had said. Looking across the pelican bay the caucasian white skinned male gave Number One a nasty sneer with a scar that spread horizontally across his upper nose and face making him seem even more intimidating. The rugged man then closed his eyes as he ran a hand through his buzz cut mohawk while letting out an annoyed grunt. He didn't seem too thrilled to have Number One on the team. Luckily for him, he didn't care.

At that moment Ditzy got up and sat in the seat next to Number One, seeming jittery or perhaps exited. "Ello there! You're really him aren't you? Number One? The man who killed 200 Innies by himself and won?" She asked in an enthusiastic tone while speaking in a heavy english accent that seemed to have originated from London. For morale reasons ONI section 2 had decided to declassify one of his more successful missions from Operation TREBUCHET, one of the largest and brutal military campaigns the UNSC currently waged against the Insurrection in the outer colony world's. His mission at the time had been to assassinate an Insurrection Leader on Epsilon Eradani IV. Throughout those twelve long weeks of his mission, Number One managed to confirm 199 kills while he had been hunted by the enemy through one of the many thick jungles on the planet. Through much patience, stealth, and guerrilla warfare tactics he had managed to locate the Insurrectionist Leader who was held up in a heavily fortified makeshift structure, however it was too well guarded to sneak in so he marked the area where later a UNSC frigate blasted the location from orbit with a MAC gun, presumably killing the target inside. So it wasn't technically 200 kills, but ONI always had the tendency to over exaggerate things. Despite this, one thing that wasn't exaggerated was that he had well over 900 confirmed kills to his name that he had gained over the course of his military career. Having the highest body count in the military, ONI Section II had decided to brand him something of a hero, a figure other soldiers could rally behind. He remembered the news feed title well "Man with the number one highest body count. Hero of the UNSC." But he knew better. He wasn't a hero, he was a monster, a weapon to be aimed and fired. Having taken so many lives, killing was like a second nature to him at that point.

"Ditzy go to back to your seat and strap back in." Ordered Susie before laying her head back on the Pelicans seat and crossing her arms. "Oh come on Susie, I just want to meet the man. He hasn't said a word since we left Reach. What do you have against him?" Ditzy asked before sticking her tongue out at Susie as an immature child would. Axel would then give a disgusted scowl before commenting. "If I were you Ditzy I'd stay away from him, the guy has bad news written all over him. I don't like him." Ditzy shrugged the man off, not caring much about first impressions. To her the first time meeting someone didn't decide if she liked them or not. "Now that's just rubbish Axel, we literally met him a few hours ago. You don't know anything about him." Crossing his arms, Axel began to shake his head in pity. "He's a war hero who doesn't want his real name to be known. A little suspicious don't you think? Number One, the hell kind of name is that? I think I know what his real name is, Classified Top Level Clearance Eyes Only." At that point Susie chose that moment to intervene, likely from hearing Axel's constant complaining. "That's enough Axel, lock it down. That's an order. Ditzy, I have nothing against the guy but it's against regulations to move around the Pelicans passenger bay while it's still in flight so get back to your seat and buckle up. Also, it's commander now." Giving a sigh, Ditzy would get up from her seat before facing over towards Susie. "Yes Su-...Commander..." Turning back towards Number One she would place her hand next to her mouth and give him a wink. "I'll catch you later Champ..." She spoke in a whisper before finally sitting back down in her seat on the other side of the passenger bay. Number One glanced over to Axel who rolled his eyes before letting out a grunt. "Hmph..."

In the Pelican dropship's cockpit Ashley "Rover" Mackenzie and her co-pilot Skipper prepped the dropship to dock. Finally with the docking station in sight Rover stretched her arms before letting out a yawn while her blue eyes fluttered from exhaustion. The flight from Reach had been more or less uneventful and Rover didn't expect the rest of her time aboard the ONI stealth prowler Olympus to be anymore exciting. However for Rover this was the first ONI mission she had been a part of so she didn't know what to expect. "This is Pelican dropship Mako 6.2 to Olympus approaching Gamma Station, prep for docking." The Pelican begin to decelerate as it approached the orbital space docks where a single ONI stealth prowler was attached to one of the docking stations. The pelican would then stop right under the large ship as a door on the belly of the prowler would open, allowing the pelican to lift up into the ship. The drop ship hovered in the prowlers hanger as the doors underneath closed and sealed before the Rover turned the Pelican 180 degrees and attached itself to a large mechanical claw that hung from the ceiling. At that point the Pelican bay doors behind the ship opened and Blitzkrieg stepped out fully covered from head to toe in their olive green prototype Mark IV MJOLNIR power armor.

Walking towards a 5 foot high holo pad in the center of the hanger Blitzkrieg the deep voice of a man coming from the speakers. "All personal prepare for departure." The voice said. At that moment the 5 foot tall holo pad began to glow yellow before the foot high transparent yellow avatar of a lion showed itself. It sat up straight on the holo pad as if it were perched on top of a rock. The lion had a large lush mane around its head which it seemed to show off proudly. "Ah, you must be Blitzkrieg if I am correct. I am the ships A.I. Nova. Captain Vega has been expecting you for sometime now. Unfortunately I regret to inform you that he is currently busy on the bridge preparing the ship for departure and cannot greet you in person, but he does wish to greet you via hologram." Crossing her arms Susie would give a small nod to the A.I. in acknowledgement. She seemed to understand the situation and knew that time was crucial under circumstances such as these. After all they were wearing what would most likely be the next step in warfare so it was vital that they arrived to Chi Ceti IV on schedule. "Alright let's hear it."

A moment later Nova disappeared before the avatar of a man appeared over the projector. From his appearance he looked Hispanic of origin and wore a grey captain's uniform which on it were pinned small medals as well as his rank. He stood straight with a posture of authority while looking at Blitzkrieg with a soft polite smile. "Blitzkrieg, glad to have you onboard. We'll be departing to Demascus shortly, so in the meantime feel free to make yourselves comfortable. I must get back to prepping the ship, we'll speak again soon." Captain Vega's avatar disappeared as the holo pad turned off. Ditzy looked over to Susie, giving a small tilt of her head. "Wait, we're not going into cryo sleep?" Said Ditzy in a surprised tone. "How far is Demascus anyway?" Axel asked. Susie turned to Axel before placing a hand on her hip. "A few months journey." She answered. Crossing his arms Axel looked down and shook his head in disappointment. "You've gotta be kidding me..." He exclaimed as Susie let out a small sigh. "That's good for us." She said. "That means we'll have time to train here as a team. With me now taking over as commander and the arrival of Number One, we need to rethink our strategies and this will give us the perfect opportunity to learn how to coordinate as a team again...after Brian I mean...Alright Blitzkrieg, let's get to it." Axel felt a hard slap on the back of his head by Ditzy which caused him to stumble over. Luckily Axel caught himself from falling over before looking back at Ditzy unamused who then gave him a sadistic chuckle. "You're starting to act like a child Axel. I better not hear you asking are we there yet through the trip." "Me acting like a child?! Look who's talking!" Axel yelled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Meanwhile as this was happening, Number One watched silently as the two supposedly professional highly skilled super soldiers who had fought through countless engagements against the insurrection began to bicker and fight all the while in expensive top secret prototype power armor. This was his new team, the men and women he would have to work with, sleep with, and fight along side with. Oh boy. A half an hour later the Olympus's thrusters lit up a bright blue as the ship pulled out from the space docks before calculating the trajectory of their jump to slipstream space or slipspace for short. The ships Shaw-Fujikawa tanslight engine which allowed them to enter slipspace powered up before a large blue glowing ripple formed in front of the Olympus which entered the alternate dimension and disappeared as the blue ripple closed shut.

Halo: Harvest


	2. Chapter 1: Roanoke

Section I: First Contact

Chapter 1: Roanoke

ONI Stealth prowler Olympus, Enroute to Chi Ceti IV, January 15 2525 military calendar.

As Captain Vega felt the Olympus come out from slipspace he instantly knew something was wrong. They had come out way earlier than expected. Heading up to the bridge from his sleeping quarters, he knew that a number of things could have caused the Olympus to come out from slipspace, and 9/10 of those scenarios didn't end well. A slipspace drive malfunction? A miscalculation in their trajectory? Whatever the case he would know soon enough. Punching in the bridges security code on the number pad, the door to the bridge would open and Vega stepped through the doorway. "Why did we jump out of slipspace Nova?" He asked with a tired expression as he walked up to the center dashboard in the middle of the room which showcased on it a heavily damaged civilian class cargo transport ship. In front of the screen Nova's hologram appeared over the bridges holo projector. "Sir, I've picked up a distress signal from the civilian cargo freighter, called the Roanoke. I've tried replying to its hails but it isn't responding." Crossing his arms, Captain Vega would hold onto his chin between his thumb and index finger deep in thought. "The Roanoke you say..." There was a momentary pause from Vega as he continued to look at the ship on screen. "Yes sir, I assume you've heard of it?" Nova asked curiously raising an eyebrow on his lion avatar. "I served on the Roanoke a long time ago. It's actually an ONI science vessel disguised as a civilian cargo freighter. What's it doing stranded out here though?"

A sigh parted the captains lips as he closed his eyes. "Whatever the case, I'm sure ONI would want to know what happened to it. Nova, wake the rest of the crew from cryo, and prep Blitzkrieg for a zero-g insertion." Nova's eyes would then widen before giving captain Vega a grim expression, indicating the nervous disapproval. "Sir, we're supposed to deliver Blitzkrieg and the MJOLNIR armor prototypes unharmed." The A.I spoke in a strict tone. Placing his hands behind his back, Vega turned to face the A.I, standing as stiff as a board. In any regular case he would have agreed with Nova, however something about the situation in general irked him. "Blitzkrieg is the only team onboard who has experience in zero-g insertions. Something isn't right here and I want to know what's happening on that ship without attracting any attention to us. In that aspect, Blitzkrieg is right for the job. Besides, under the circumstances I'm sure ONI will understand." That was an obvious lie. In truth by doing this he would probably end up knees deep in shit after this was over, but he had many friends that had been stationed on the Roanoke and for this reason alone he needed to know what was happening on there. Was it selfish? Of course, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself he didn't do something. Sitting down in his captain's chair, Vega looked around the his crew on the bridge. They were men and women under his command, which had made their safety his responsibility. Was this really worth risking all their lives? He sighed before looking back at Nova's avatar. "Keep trying to hail the Roanoke Nova. Update me if they respond, until then we're going through with the operation." "Yes sir."

ONI Stealth prowler Olympus, near civilian cargo freighter Roanoke, January 15 2525 military calendar.

Number One slid a magazine into his BR55 service rifle, a mid to long ranged weapon with an optics rail and scope on top of the weapon which displayed the number of rounds inside the magazine that currently read in bright neon blue lights 36. He also carried on his back a jetpack and below it held a military grade machete that was sheathed in its holster. But that wasn't all Number One held. Attached to his upper thigh was a M6B2 pistol, a powerful semi-automatic military side arm that fired 12.7 x 44mm rounds that could shred through the thickest body armor. His team also carried this sidearm and were just armed as he was. Axel carried an M30 tactical shotgun with yellow light iron sights and a handle on the shotguns pump grip. The close ranged weapon fired 8 gauge incendiary pellets that burst into flame upon impact. Running down the weapons long barrel was the decal of a Chinese dragon who's mouth opened at the end of the barrel as if it was about to spew fire which had granted Axel to call it, the Spitfire. Number One also noticed a military tomahawk attached to his belt that looked sharp enough to hack through thick armor plating. Ditzy wielded an M7 sub machine gun and carried an M99 stanchion rifle on her back. On her left shoulder plate she had attached to her a large combat knife and on her helmet was an X-22 optical targeting display system, a camera attachment that went over the MJOLNIRs visor and could link up with the stanchion rifles electronic camera mounted scope for more accuracy. Then there was Susie who held an MA5B assault rifle, one of the more common weapons used in the UNSC but still just as effective nonetheless. Unlike the rest of the team who carried only one bladed weapon, Susie carried two combat knifes which were located on each side of her collars.

"Olympian Actual to Blitzkrieg, mission is a go." The tactical officer said through Blitzkriegs team radio as oxygen in the air lock hissed out before the hatch opened revealing the infinite blackness of space and in the distance, the Roanoke. "Alright Blitzkrieg, move out!" Susie yelled as the thrusters of her jetpack lit up before jumping out into the vast emptiness of space. Axel shook his head as he prepared to jump, the thrusters of his jetpack coming to life. "I signed up to be a marine, not a freaking astronaut." He said before flying out of the air lock behind Susie. Ditzy giggled as her jetpacks thrusters propelled her out next. "What's wrong Axel? Thinking about changing your occupation?" She asked while adjusting the boost of her jetpacks thrusters. "Well my mom always did want me to become an artist." Said Axel. "You, an artist? What did you make as a kid? Finger paintings with the blood of your neighbors cat?" Ditzy said with a chuckle. "You'd be surprised how well blood works as an alternative painting solution." Doing one last systems check of his armor and his jetpack, Number One launched himself out of the air lock, pursuing close behind the others. As they approached the Roanoke Number One noticed that the ships outer hull had been severely damaged but by what he couldn't quite tell. "Well that sure is a pretty sight." Ditzy commented before looking over to Axel. "Hey Axel, I bet you 50 credits it was space pirates." Axel looked back at Ditzy for a few seconds as he thought her offer over. "Alright, I'll get in on this action, I bet 50 credits on Insurrectionists." "Now's not the time you two." Susie interrupted as she looked at the many large holes that had been made by whatever attacked the ship in an attempt to find a way into the Roanoke. "I think I see a hole we can get into the ship through. Follow me!"

Adjusting their trajectory, Blitzkrieg flew into one of the more larger indentations on the outer wall of the Roanoke's hull before landing inside the gap. Axel stood with his feet magnetized to the melted steel floor, his head looking around the impact crater in shock. "Woah" He said stunned. "What the hell happened here? Whatever did this melted through the outer hull like it was ice. Do you know what kind of heat that would take?" As Number One switched his focus from Axel to the chasm behind them, he realized Axel was right. This wasn't caused by a missile barrage or a Mac shell, something really hot had hit the ships outer plating, burning through it. Susie called Axel over and pointed at a sealed maintenance shaft who's metal door had been melted shut. "I got this." Said Axel as he pulled out a laser cutter from one of the pouches around his waist and began to cut through the door. A few minutes later he had almost finished cutting a rectangle around the maintenance hatch when the door flung open and a heavy gust of air escaped the now open tunnel, causing the door to blow off its hinges and fly out into space. Susie gave Axel a nod turning her attention towards Ditzy and Number One. "Alright guys, let's move in. Axel you're in front, I'll be behind you, followed by Number One and Ditzy who has the rear."

Moving through the ships maintenance tunnels wasn't easy, however it was to be expected when one was walking around in 7 foot tall power armor. Still, even without the armor the maintenance way would have been very cramped for even a normal person. Wires and tubes ran through the tunnels which were only illuminated by a few red lights that were placed on the vents ceiling every few meters. Steam flooded and filled through the maintenance tunnels causing Blitzkrieg move blind through what seemed like an endless maze. Number One started to feel a little claustrophobic but he stayed silent and kept his cool as they continued to navigate through the series of tunnels. He had never been a fan of close quarters. In a more open space he had more options where to move or what to do if in combat, but in a cramped area like this there were really only two options. Forward or backward. Eventually they finally they came across a hatch on the lower right wall that was blocked off by ventilation tubes which had seemed to have come loose and now dangled in front of the hatch. Pulling the tomahawk off his belt, Axel began hacking away at the tubes until they had all been cut. Lowering himself against the vents steel wall, Axel lifted his foot before slamming his boot against the hatch, causing it to break open and onto the ground outside the vent with a clang.

Moving his feet first through the air vents 3 foot opening, Axel pushed himself out and landed 3 meters below on the hallway floor before raising his shotgun and scanned for targets. No immediate threat detected Axel gave the all clear signal as the rest of Blitzkrieg dropped out one by one. They had come out right where the hallway had split off into two different directions and despite what should have been a very lively passage was now empty with not a single soul visible. "Where is everyone?" Ditzy asked in a nervous tone, SMG raised up and ready. "That's what we're here to find out Ditz." Susie said as she placed two fingers onto her helmets comm amplifier before radioing Nova who had been tracking their progress into the ship. "Nova we've made it into the ship, the interior looks more or less intact. No sign sign of the crew though..." There was a slight pause over the radio as Nova processed this information before relaying a response to Susie. "I understand commander, the Roanoke still hasn't responded to my hails. The captain wants you and your team to retrieve the ships records from the bridge. I'll do my best to help you navigate but something on the ship is disrupting my scans..." Axel and Susie looked at one another in concern despite their facial expressions being hidden behind their helmets. "Think it's a jammer?" Susie asked Axel who responded with a shrug. "Maybe, if you want we can split up and check it out." "We'll investigate after we retrieve the ships records. Nothing here is right. Axel, you're up front."

As Blitzkrieg navigated through the ghost ship, Number One noticed the garbage and other random objects littering the hallway floors. Every room they passed by seemed to have been ransacked of certain pieces of furniture, equipment, or other objects such as tables and chairs which was evident due to the spots on the dusty floor which indicated where the furniture had once been. "Looks like someone had a good time ransacking the place. Seems like my space pirate theory isn't looking as absurd as I thought." Ditzy would comment before Axel took his left hand off the pump handle of his shotgun and placed his fist up causing the rest of the group following behind to stop. "Axel, what did you see?" Ditzy asked before being hushed by Axel who pointed up at the ceiling. Staying silent and still, they were able to hear footsteps from someone moving around in the ships maintenance vents above. They slowly raised their weapons up and crouched down, looking around and listening to the source of the noise. After a few seconds the sound suddenly stopped, leaving an empty silence. Number One noticed how fast his team reacted to the noise, instantly crouching into a defensive formation. Perhaps his first impressions of them had been wrong as they clearly knew how to operate as a unit, even if they did bicker and argue most of the time. After a minute of nothing Blitzkrieg would continue to move towards the front of the ship.

Proceeding deeper through the empty vessel towards the ships bridge, they would eventually come across a steel door 3 meters wide that seemed to be more or less busted. The door itself was slightly open in the center, however a whir and clank from the doors rotor indicated it was broken, causing it to not close all the way. "This is the only passage that goes straight through the center of the ship. Axel, Number One, pry that door open." Susie ordered, pointing at the slightly open 8 foot tall steel door. "Roger commander." Said Axel as he and Number One moved to opposite ends and grabbed hold of the sliding doors from the center gap before beginning to pry it open with their hands. Usually this would be impossible for any regular human, however their augmentations had made them stronger then any normal person allowing them to achieve feats that normally couldn't be performed. They pulled as hard as they could, forcing the doors open inch by inch, causing the metal sliding doorway to creak. Before long it was almost open enough for them to slip through, but before they could a wall of stacked crates, tables, chairs, as well as other large objects that had been built up from behind the door fell out of the opening, almost crashing down onto Susie who quickly leapt back as the many objects flooded out. Number One and Axel turned towards Susie who got up off the floor and looked at the items that had almost crushed her, now littering the ground around her. "You okay commander?" Axel asked. "Yeah, at least we know now where all of that missing furniture and equipment went." "Whoever did this must have been trying to barricade the doorway, maybe keep something in?" Ditzy proposed to Susie who looked through the opening into the next room ahead. "Or maybe keep something out..." She said raising her MA5B assault rifle and climbing over the junk pile into the next hallway with Blitzkrieg following behind. It was dark and hard to see with the only light coming from the hallway in back of them. Susie turned on her headlights, illuminating the dark room before taking a step back, looking down the hallway in horror at the dead bodies littering the ground. "Oh my god..."


	3. Chapter 2: Contact

Updated changes to the story: Nova is now a prideful yellow male lion, Rachel is now Ashley, Erin is now Brian, and Captain Vega's first name has been changed to Logan.

Chapter 2: Contact

Civilian Cargo Vessel Roanoke, unknown location, January 15 2525 military calendar.

"Holy shit!" Axel exclaimed in shock as he and the rest of Blitzkrieg looked down the dark hallway full of dead bodies. Something was off Number One had thought to himself. Where was the blood? There were plenty of bodies but one would think that the place would have been painted red. Axel knelt down beside one of the bodies and placed a hand into a dry wound that had scorched and cauterized the inside of the victim's body where the deep burn was inflicted. "Commander, these injuries look awfully similar to whatever hit the ships outer hull." Axel said before standing back up and looking back at Susie who now was attempting to make contact with the Olympus. "Blitzkrieg to Olympus, come in." She spoke through her comm transmitter right before Nova's voice lit up the team's comm radio. "I'm here Blitzkrieg. What's your progress?" "Nova, we found some of the crew, all K.I.A." Susie answered as she shook her head in pity. "I see." Nova said. "I'll relay the news to Captain Vega, in the meantime keep heading to the bridge and secure the Roanoke's records. I'll see what I can do from my end to help, Nova out." Susie switched off her radio and sighed. "Well Blitzkrieg, we have our orders. Let's move out, and stay frosty."

The team kept proceeding forward with their weapons raised and at the ready. They still didn't know what had killed the dead crew members and they wanted to stay as alert as possible incase they might be heading right into an ambush. For whatever reason the lights in this part of the ship had been disabled which made the possibility of an ambush all the more likely. Reaching the end of the long corridor, Blitzkrieg reached another large metal door; only this one seemed to work. "It's locked commander." Said Axel as he attempted to access the doors control pad terminal located to the right of the door itself. "That means someone is still inside. Axel, slice the doors terminal." "Already on it commander." Axel took off the terminals panel and began fiddling with the wires and switches inside the small rectangle hole. "Red wire, blue wire, or green wire? Screw it, I'll just cut them all." A moment later sparks lit up from inside the access panel as the metal doors slid open. "No need to praise me, I already know I'm great." Susie nodded to Axel as she pointed two fingers into the room. "Blitzkrieg, move in." The strike team moved through the doorway into what looked like a the ship's cargo storage room, a massive rectangular area that was filled from one end to the other with wooden and metal cargo crates and containers that had been divided into four rows, two on each end of the rooms walls and the other two running down the middle to what looked like another metal door all the way at the end of the room.

A single widened two pronged claw hung above holding a wooden crate and was attached to a metal rail that ran between the rows of stacked boxes as well as through and out the room through multiple entrance ways that likely ran the cargo to other parts of the ship. At the other side of the room the rail angled downward and went through a small opening above the metal door, likely to run cargo through the corridors of the ship as well. At the far left end of the room, a flight of stairs led up to a platform that held on it the control station to the giant mechanical claw hanging from the railway above. Susie put up her fist and her team stopped. "Let's split up and cover more ground. That way we'll be able to fish out whoever's hiding in here much easier. Axel go left, Number One go right, I'll move up the center, and Ditzy will stay back and cover us." She said as Axel turned to her. "I've got a better idea, how about we DON'T do that?" Axel suddenly felt a blow to his back from the butt of Ditzy's M99, causing him to be pushed forward. "Stop being a nancy boy and get going." Ditzy spoke as Axel gave a not to impressed groan before heading towards the left row. With that Susie began to walk down the center row as Number One would head to the right.

As Number One walked down the long row of crates and boxes he couldn't help but get the feeling that he was being watched. He would continuously look at his motion tracker at the bottom left of his HUD, however no blips appeared on his radar. "Report in team." Said Susie over the team comm. "I'm not getting anything." Axel replied before Ditzy would join in as well. "Same here sadly. Nothing on my thermal scope." Eventually Axel, Susie, and Number One met at the other end of the room near the locked door. "Anything?" Susie asked Axel who shook his head. "Negative commander." The three soldiers looked across the room at Ditzy who merely gave them a shrug before being gestured over by Susie. As the three started to walk towards Ditzy the claw above them that held the wooden crate opened, causing the wooden crate to fall right on top of Number One. "Ugh!" Number One would grunt, being crushed under the wooden crate. "Number One!" Susie yelled as she noticed someone now making a break towards the locked door. "I've got him!" Yelled Ditzy as she aimed her M99 stanchion rifle at the fleeing man's leg. But before she could take the shot, Susie placed a hand on the barrel of Ditzy's rifle before lowering it. "Stand down Ditzy, you'll blow his leg off with that. I'll handle this..." She said as she reached up to her collar and pulled out one of her two combat knives.

The man in the white lab coat ran to the doors control panel before frantically putting in the password to unlock the metal door in order and escape. Tossing her knife into the air, Susie would catch it by its blade before throwing it at and into the man's leg just as he unlocked the metal door. He would then fall onto the ground, screaming in pain as he looked at the bloody knife blade protruding from his shin. "And Bob's your uncle." Ditzy remarked as her and Susie looked back at Axel who lifted the heavy crate off Number One. "How is he?" She asked while Axel helped Number One to his feet. "He'll live." Axel replied. The man on the ground began mumbling to himself as he dragged his body towards the now open door, leaving a trail of smeared blood behind. "Get away...I got to get away..." He had made it about halfway out of the doorway when Susie smashed a boot down onto the man's leg that still had her knife lodged through his shin. His screams of agony echoed through the room as Susie proceeded to pull the knife out of the man's leg and slip it back into its sheath on her shoulder. "You're not going anywhere." She said matter of factly. "Nova, we found a survivor." "Can you verify Blitzkrieg?" Nova asked over the team comm as Susie turned the screaming man over onto his back and took a glance at his name tag which was sown to the front of his lab coat. "We've got a Dr. Daniel Merch." She reported to Nova before the voice of Captain Vega cut into the conversation. "Commander, I want to have a word with him if possible." "Putting you through now captain." Susie said as she turned on her armor's external speakers.

"Daniel, it's Logan." Captain Vega said over Susie's external speakers. Man now identified as Dr. Daniel Merch widened his eyes at Susie before looking at the rest of Blitzkrieg. "L-Logan? Is that really you?" He asked in a shaken tone. "It is, old friend. Tell me what happened here." "T-Then that means you're not one of them...you're all human..." Said Dr Merch as he seemed to relax a little, letting out a small laugh. Susie and Ditzy looked to one another before looking back at Merch. "Why wouldn't we be?" Asked Ditzy. Susie crouched down in front of the doctor, leaning in with a hand on her knee. "You're not making any sense. Talk normal and we'll get some help for your leg." The doctor began to laugh once again, clearly traumatized and in shock. "You don't know do you?! What happened here? They took the ship, killed everyone onboard, even the scientists. Now they're after me! They want the artifact we found on Harvest, and only I know where it's hidden!" "You're still not making any sense, what artifact, and who's 'they'?" Susie asked. Dr Merch's lips shook as the words tried to escape his lips. "The monsters..." Captain Vega then cut in once more, having heard enough of the doctors incoherent speak. "Commander I've heard enough. Your new orders are to bring the doctor back to the Olympus. Since you haven't come across any immediate threat I'll send in a team of ONI specialists with a marine escort to finish where you left off. Head to the ship's hanger and prepare for evac. Vega out." Susie's helmet radio then went to static.

"Well that was a waste of time." Said Axel. "We didn't even get to shoot anyone." Susie stayed kneeling down as she pulled out a can of bio foam and sprayed it into the doctors bleeding stab wound. The doctor cringed, trying his best to hold in the pain. "That should hold until we get you to the Olympus." Susie glanced over at Number One before signaling him over. "Alright doctor let's get you back onto your feet." Susie would announce as she and Number One got on either side and pulled him up. "Axel, find us the closest shortcut to the hanger." She ordered. To this however to her dismay Axel gave an annoyed grunt. "Right, because I can snap my fingers and instantly know where to go." Susie and Number One began walking back towards the other door with the doctors arms slung over their shoulders. "No back talk Axel, just do it!" It was that moment that Ditzy interrupted. "Um...commander..." The whole team stopped instantly. Susie and Number One dropped Doctor Merch and raised their weapons with Ditzy and Axel. "Ow!" Doctor Merch would yell. "Why the hell did you do that?!" He asked. "Axel..." "I don't see anything commander, but my motion tracker is lighting up." Axel replied as he kept his Spitfire shotgun leveled. Doctor Merch's eyes widened as the fear of a sudden realization set in. "You led them right to me! They know I'm here!"

At that moment what seemed like three invisible shimmers dropped from above, landing on top of the stacked cargo containers. "Contacts!" Susie yelled as the team opened fire on the areas of distorted air which then seemed to spew blue bolts of light at them as Blitzkrieg ducked and leapt away out of the line of fire. Looking at where one of the blue bolts hit, Number One could see a small scorching crater in the metal floor, similar to the outer hull of the Roanoke. They were shooting some kind of blue plasma energy. Getting to his feet, Number One had the sights of his Battle Rifle now on the one of the shimmers where the air was slightly distorted when he heard something above and quickly looked up only to see a shimmer jump down from a crane and land right on top of him, pinning him to the ground. The shimmer uncloaked itself from its light bending camo, revealing itself to Number One. It was large, about as tall as he was in his MJOLNIR. No, it was a foot taller. It wore some kind of dark blue jumpsuit that was covered in silver armor plating which only seemed to only protect certain aspects of the creature's body such as the chest, thighs, legs, shoulders, forearms and head. It's chest piece reminded Number One of a rib cage as the whole thing was six horizontal silver plates, three on each side of the creatures chest. However the most notable feature of the creature was its head which had on a "v" shaped mask that covered the entire upper part of the creatures face. Underneath this was its mouth which consisted of four mandibles full of razor sharp teeth.

The creature's mandibles split open as it let out a ferocious roar a half a foot away from Number One's face, causing some of its saliva to stain Number One's visor. "EEEEEERRRRR!" It howled as it raised one of its four fingered hands which in its grip held some kind of cylindrical devise that when activated flared two bright energy blades at both ends. The bright blue energy formed a curved hilt at each side of the weapons handle which inclined into two blades. As the creature was about to swing down, Number One grabbed onto its arm and held it still. Long enough for him to grab his machete with his other hand and quickly pull it out of its sheath before stabbing it into the creature's long thick neck. It howled in pain as purple blood splattered onto Number One's armor. It got up off Number One and stumbled back as it dropped its energy blade, holding onto its bleeding neck and attempting to pull out the lodged machete. Getting back up onto his feet Number One grabbed the creatures energy blade and hurled forward, stabbing the energy blade into the creatures stomach before grabbing a hold of his machetes grip and pulling it out of the growling beasts neck. He kicked the energy blade with his foot, thrusting it deeper into the creature which caused it to fall back onto the floor and die.

Number One looked over to the rest of his team and saw that they were no longer fighting but rather in the middle of a standoff with the other three aliens who now held Doctor Merch. Retreating slowly, the aliens backed through the doorway that Merch had attempted to escape through earlier. The two aliens on the right had their blue plasma guns trained on the rest of Blitzkrieg while the one on the left held the doctor in front of it, using him as leverage. The doctor screamed in terror, begging for Blitzkrieg to save him, but as long as he was in the line of fire there was nothing they could do. Nevertheless he attempted to break free but the alien who held him wouldn't have any of it, holding him with an arm around his waist and an energy blade to his throat. Once they had passed all the way through the doorway, the center alien snarled to the one on its right before it activated its energy blade and slashed the doors control panel on the other side, breaking it and causing the door to initiate its emergency protocol which caused the door to shut and lock down, trapping Blitzkrieg on the other side. Even then they were still able to hear the doctors screams and pleas for help which became more and more faint the farther away the creatures would move before eventually fading out completely.


	4. Chapter 3: Engaged

Chapter 3: Engaged

Civilian Cargo Vessel Roanoke, unknown location, January 15 2525 military calendar.

The dead alien laid on the floor as purple blood continued gushing from its wound onto the ground. Blitzkrieg stood over the creature, looking down at it in a stunned silence. To Number One the creatures grey skin kind of reminded him that of a slug. Axel poked the barrel of his M30 at the deceased alien before letting out a long whistle. "Damn...these insurrectionists just get uglier every time. Looks like you owe me 50 credits Ditzy." Ditzy smashed her fist into Axel's stomach which made Axel stumble back and fall onto the floor while gripping where she had punched him. "They're not innie's you cheeky twit, I don't know what they are...commander what do you think?" Susie looked up from the dead alien and shook her head. "I wouldn't know. Your guess is as good as mine..." Axel let out a grunt. "What's to guess? They're alien's and they're not friendly. That makes them a threat, that means we get to kill them." A burst of static came over the team's radio before it was replaced with Nova who spoke in an unnerved tone. "Blitzkrieg, come in! What's happening in there?" Susie turned away from Blitzkrieg and began walking the other way. "Nova, I need speak to Captain Vega immediately." "I'm here, what's the situation?" Vega asked through the team comm.

"Sir, Dr Merch has been captured by unknown hostiles." Susie reported as she looked back at her team. "Unknown?" Vega asked in a confused tone. Susie wasn't sure how to report a first contact scenario seriously without making it sound ridiculous. She never expected that she would ever have to. Humanity had expanded so far out into space that the likelihood that humanity was alone in the universe was starting to look all the more real. But here she was, standing over the corpse of a creature that was yet of unknown origin. A creature with technology just as if not more advanced then anything humanity had and what was worse was that it had used that technology with malicious intent against them. At that moment Susie knew that if she wanted her and the rest of her team to survive this scenario she couldn't let the pressure of the situation get to her. She needed to treat this like any other mission and to do that she would need to come right out and say it. "Alien's sir. We were ambushed by aliens." The lack of a response from Vega told Susie that he must have been stunned by her answer. She stayed silent and let what she said sink in with Captain Vega before speaking to him once again. "Sir, we need orders. The aliens are hostile and they now have doctor Merch. We need to know how you want us to handle this." She could hear the captain sigh over the radio, likely still letting the information sink in.

"Blitzkrieg your new orders are to haul ass the Roanoke's bridge. We need to assess if these aliens have accessed the ship's navigation database. If they haven't, then purge the system. We know nothing about these creatures so we need to play it safe and protect the location of every human colony world. I'll send reinforcements to assist. Good luck Blitzkrieg, Vega out." Axel shrugged to Susie who was walking back over to them. "So no pressure then commander?" Susie looked back down at the dead alien one last time before glancing over towards the locked door at the end of the room. "We need to get that door open and I don't think explosives will cut it. It looks pretty thick." Number One looked up at the claw hanging above that had dropped the crate on top of him before cocking his head to one side. He then looked over to one of the long stacked metal containers before shifting his attention to the locked metal door. "Commander" He spoke as the rest of Blitzkrieg jolted their heads in his direction, a little more than surprised. "Holy shit, it talks?!" Axel commented smugly before getting hit in the stomach by Ditzy once more. "What is it Number One?" Asked Susie who also seemed surprised to hear him. It wasn't that he didn't like to talk, but rather he just never really had anything interesting to say and just usually liked keeping to himself. He preferred to let his actions speak for him rather than his words.

Number One looked up at the grappling claw and nodded up to it as Blitzkrieg focused their attention towards the open machine. Soon enough Susie looked at him and nodded approvingly. "Good idea Number One. Axel, get to the crane controls. We're gonna ram the door open." "Roger that commander." Said Axel as he moved to the platform at the far left corner of the room. Number One felt as Ditzy gave him a hard pat on the back. "Good thinking champ." She said. Number One looked away. As Axel reached the claws control panel he would handle the joy stick and begin maneuvering it around the room before grabbing onto a long metal container and lowered it, bringing the container in front of the locked door. "Alright Axel, do it." Susie said as the crane moved away from the door before accelerating towards it with the long metal container, hitting the door like a hammer hitting a nail. A loud clang echoed through the room as the container was pulled back to reveal the massive dent created by the container, however the door was still intact. Number One heard yelps and strange noises coming from the other side, indicating that there was someone waiting for them. "We got company." Said Susie as she raised her MA5B assault at the steel door.

Ditzy used her jetpack and jumped up onto a stack of nearby crates. She perched herself on top of them, setting up her M99 before aiming the sniper rifle at the door. Number One took cover with Susie behind another steel crate they had pulled out from the stacks of containers and prepared themselves. "Axel, now!" Ordered Susie as the container once again pulled back before running into the door once more. This time the yelps and screeches behind the door weren't as loud as before, still Number One knew that whatever was on the other side was most likely expecting them and were just as prepared as they were for a fight. "One more hit Axel, go for it!" Susie yelled as she pulled out a frag grenade and prepared to toss it. The metal container slammed against the door one last time as the steel doors finally gave in and broke apart. Green plasma started spraying out from the now bashed in doors as they hit the metal crate Number One and Susie took cover behind. Axel pulled the container back and raised it up over the doorway, giving Susie a bigger opening to throw her grenade into. "Fire in the hole!" She yelled as she armed the explosive and threw it through the doorway. A few seconds later the grenade detonated with a loud thump.

"Move in!" Susie ordered as she and Number One leapt out from cover with their weapons raised and moved towards the doorway. Once through, Number One scanned the area for more hostiles. There weren't any. He turned his head to Susie who had knelt down next to one of the dead aliens which looked much different from the ones they had previously encountered. These ones were much smaller and had bulky forearms which held onto a small circular weapon that glowed green. It's legs were stumpy and it wore an orange suit which covered its grey skinned torso. The creature also wore a mask over its mouth and had a pack on its back. Susie picked up one of the dead aliens weapons and examined it. "ONI's gonna wanna see this." She said, placing it onto her thigh. Soon joining Number One and Susie, Ditzy and Axel came over to them and looked around at the dead aliens lying on the ground in pools of bright blue blood. "They just get uglier and uglier don't they?" Axel quipped as Susie stood back up. "We have no time to waste. Our objective, get to the bridge, purge the nav data, and kill any hostiles that stand in our way." She looked to the rest of her team who nodded back to her as three green acknowledgement lights winked on. They knew what was at stake and would do whatever it took to keep the location of Earth and the rest of her colonies secret from this new threat. "Blitzkrieg, we're oscar mike!"

Blitzkrieg would fight their way through the front part of the ship in order to reach the ship's main elevators that would take them to the top floor where their objective would be located. However to get there they had to cross a much larger container storage area which upon entering was full of the small alien foot soldiers from before as well as a new kind of enemy that they had yet to encounter, vulture headed like creatures that carried a shield made of blue and orange energy. The shield came from a gauntlet attached to their forearms which they seemed to be able to activate at will. The energy shields were very resilient to arms fire, which meant they couldn't be taken out from the front. Instead Blitzkrieg had to rethink their tactics and coordinate a flanking maneuver that involved Ditzy distracting the aliens with her sniper fire while Susie, Axel, and Number One snuck around before ambushing the aliens from behind. After clearing the room of enemies Blitzkrieg would eventually reach a series of eight elevators on each side of the next hallway ahead which to their dismay were all offline. "Looks like elevators were shut down too." Said Axel as he opened the elevator panel. "I can try bypassing the security lock and attempt to re-direct power to the elevator from the bridge, but that may take awhile."

Susie shook her head to Axel as she pried the elevator door open and walked into the rectangular lift. "That will take too long." She said aiming up at the ceiling and firing a round from her assault rifle at the seal on the hatch above, causing it to break open. Boosting up through the hatch, Susie would help the rest of Blitzkrieg up one by one until they eventually all stood on top of the elevator. "Blitzkrieg we're going airborne!" She said before her jetpack's thrusters lit up and she propelled herself into the air onto the next elevator a few floors up. The rest of Blitzkrieg followed behind her, leaping from elevator to elevator. However they eventually reached an elevator that was too high up for them to get to with their jetpacks and had to cross over to the elevators on the other side of the hallway. As they moved across the hallway on the fourth floor to the other set of elevators, they would kill two small aliens and one bird alien who didn't expect them to come up through the elevator shaft. As they started to leap once again up the elevator shaft they came across more bird aliens, only this time they wore EVA suits equipped with jetpacks, giving them an equal footing over Blitzkrieg.

With no cover and stuck in a tight quarters area, they were practically sitting ducks. "Blitzkrieg, down the hatch!" Susie ordered as she jumped through another elevator hatch. Ditzy provided cover fire with her M99, keeping the aliens pinned on top of one of the elevators above. This allowed Axel and Number One to jump into the hatch with Ditzy jumping in last. They were almost there damnit. Only a few more floors and they would have reached the top level. "Blast! Looks like we're gonna have to find another way up." Said Ditzy as she swung her fist around and slammed it into the wall next to Axel's head. "I'm not your personal punching bag Ditzy. Commander it may be hard to navigate, but we can probably still use the ship's maintenance tunnels to reach the top level." Susie let out a sigh before glancing over to Axel. "Guess we don't have a choice. It's either that or fight those bastards in the elevator shaft." She said as she placed a finger to the side of her helmet and accessed her comm. "Nova, we need to find an access point to one of the ship's maintenance vents. Can you lead us through to the top level?" A moment later Nova's deep polite voice filled the comms. "Indeed milady. Follow the nav point I have placed on your HUD. It shall lead you to the nearest entrance to the maintenance vent."

Leading Blitzkrieg through the ship's maintenance tunnels once more, Nova noticed that whatever had been disrupting his scans before had suddenly disappeared. After scanning the whole ship he was able to piece together that whatever was the disruption had been was caused by something located in the back of the ship, but unfortunately Nova still wasn't sure if it was the aliens that were jamming him or something else. Despite this Nova was able to lead the strike team through the labyrinth of tunnels. On their way up Blitzkrieg came across a few of the bird aliens who must have figured out what they were up to and attempted to flush Blitzkrieg out. However Blitzkrieg was able to dispatch any hostiles they encountered very quickly. Once they reached the top floor Blitzkrieg was met with plasma fire from a group of the smaller aliens as they entered through to the next room. The bastards knew they were coming and had set a trap. Blitzkrieg took cover behind the open doorway as Number One and Axel opened fire on the aliens who had taken cover behind a few crates and small containers. "Ditzy the lights! Number One, Axel, keep putting pressure on them!" While the aliens ducked behind cover, Susie rolled out from behind the doorway and fired at the lights in the room the aliens where hiding in while Ditzy shot at the lights in the room behind them, causing everything to go dark.

Number One could hear as the aliens started panicking and falling over each other in the dark. "Axel strobe light!" Susie yelled to Axel who turned on the strobe light attached to his shotgun and moved into the room with his shotgun raised. The five foot creatures tried to shoot back but the strobe light disoriented them as Axel started unloading his shotgun into them one by one. With each boom from the shotguns barrel, the aliens were thrown back and burst into flames from his shotgun incendiary pellets. Once all of the creatures were nothing more but burning corpses, Axel gave his team the green light and they walked in with their helmet lights turned on. "Nice work Axel." Susie would complement. Ditzy would simply give him a shrug. "Eh, your form could use more work. Overall I give it a 6/10." Axel gave Ditzy a small grunt as he started loading more shells into his shotgun. "The next hallway leads to the bridge, we're almost there guys." Susie spoke as Blitzkrieg prepared to move through the next door. They didn't know what was on the other side, but they had gotten this far so surly they could take on anything else the enemy could throw at them. Still, was this really the best that these aliens could do? Number One was deep in thought as Axel began to slice the door controls. However before he could finish, something large and hard rammed the door, leaving a massive indent.

Blitzkrieg stepped away from the door with their weapons up and ready. A deep growling moan came from behind the door as it was rammed once more. Now Number One knew how the small aliens from earlier felt when his team rammed the container into the metal door. "Commander..." Axel began to speak but was cut off by Susie who didn't lower her weapon for even a second. "Blitzkrieg find cover before-" The door busted open as two massive creatures carrying large metal shields stumbled in. They had to at least be 12 feet tall and carried what looked like a cannon on their right arms. The two beings roared at Blitzkrieg before they sprouted six spines on each of their backs which stood up as they crouched behind their shields which covered the opening on their stomachs. They raised their arm cannons at Blitzkrieg as the weapon charged a bright glowing green. "Get to cover!" Susie yelled as the alien pair each unleashed a bolt of glowing hot plasma at them.


End file.
